Threading attachment for sewing-machines.



1. H. SMITH. THREADING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED AP R. 2. I915- r 1 216,866 v Patented Feb; 20, 1917.

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w Q a N Q R Q a? h R 'lizvenfbr. I I JizmesE miti J. H. SMITH. THREADING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2, 1915.

Patented Feb .20,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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JAMES H. SMITH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB, OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES M.

NELSON, OF EAST BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

THREADING- ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented n t. 2c, 1917.

Application filed April 2, 1915. Serial No. 18,720.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES E. SMITH, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Threading Attachments for Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to sewing machines and has particular reference to means for facilitating the insertion of the sewing thread into and through the eye of the needle.

An object of my invention is to provide a permanent adjustment for sewing machines of any makes which, during the operation of sewing will occupy a position entirely out of the way of the operator or the fabric or thread, but which can be quicklyv swung to accurate position relatively to the eye of the sewing needle.

Another object is to provide an attachment or means of the character described which can be adjusted to accommodate it to different kinds of sewing machines and different types of needles.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the improvements which I shall now proceed to, describe and claim.

Qf the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of a well-known type of sewing machine head having my improvements connected therewith.

F ig. 2 is a deta l plan of the parts at the right of Fig. 1.

3 represents a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. r

1 is adetail elevation partly broken out of one of the pivotal connections hereinafter described.

Fig. 5 is an elevationfrom the opposite side of the view shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an elevation from the right of Fi 5.

7 is a detail elevation of the mechanism shown at the lower part of Fig. 5 looking from the left of said Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 represents a section on line 88 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a detail plan partly in section on line 99 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 10 represents a section on line 1010 of Fig. 9, on a larger scale.

Similar reference characters indicate similar parts in all of the views.

The needle 12 carried by a needle bar 13 and the presser foot 14: and presser foot bar 15 are mounted to reciprocate as usual in the head 16 of the armf17' of the sewing machine. The machine as usual has a driving band pulley 18 and a hand wheel 19 secured to the main shaft of said machine. Projecting from the hand wheel '19, and therefore practically carried by the main shaft of the machine, is a lug or pin 20 '(Figs. 1 and 2). Integral with or secured to the arm.17 is abracket or post 21 having a flat upper surface on which is mounted a central pivoted plate 22 formed or provided with a horizontal boss 23 and a vertical boss 24:. Mounted in the boss 23 is a springpressed pin 25 having a recess 26 in one end,'and provided with beveled or inclined lips 27 each side of the recess 26 which acts 'as the keeper for the locking pin 20 when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1. When the sewing machine is being used the plate 22 and the keeper pin carried thereby occupies'the position shown in Fig. 2 so that the wheel 19 carrying the pin 20 can revolve freely. The pin 25 is prevented from. rotating, but is permitted to be shifted in the direction of its length, by means of a pin 29 projecting from the pin 25 into a slot 28 in the boss 23.

Mounted'in the vertical boss 24: is a spring-pressed pin 30 (Figs. 1 and 3) the lower end of said pin being adapted to occupy either one of two holes or recesses 31, 32, according to whether the keeper pin 25 is to occupy the inoperative'position of Fig. 2, or the position shown in Fig. 1 to cooperate with the locking pin '20 in holding the main shaft of the machine'in a predetermined position so as to insure the stoppage and holding of the needle 12 in a predetermined vertical position.

In order that the user may not accidentally shift the swivel plate 22 too far in either direction, suitable means may be provided such as a slot 33 in either member 21 or 22 as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, a pin 34 carried by the other of these two members entering said slot and serving to stop the plate 22 when it has been shifted so that the pin 30 will engage one or the other of the recesses 31, 82.

The pin 25 having the recess 26 to cooperate with the lug or pin 20 of the wheel 19 carried by the main shaft of the machine, constitutes a stop or arrester. Owing to the location of this device as described, it is so far removed from the place Where work is being performed as to never interfere therewith. This location greatly facilitates access by the operator to it when it is to be placed in, or displaced from, position to act.

I will now proceed to describe the attachment for facilitating threading when the mechanism so far described has served to arrest and lock the hand wheel 19 and con-- sequently hold the needle 12 in predetermined vertical position.

Suitably secured to the head 16 is a bracket 35 (Figs. 5 and 6) said bracket having a cone stud 36 secured toit as by means of a bolt 37. An arm 38 having a cone bearing 39 fitted to the stud 36, is held thereon by a nut 40 engaging the threaded end of bolt 37 this structure providing for attachment to compensate for wear.

The arm 38 (Figs. 6 and 8) is provided with a cam face 41 in which is a recess 42 to receive the end of a pin 43 mounted in a boss or housing 44 and having a knob 45. By means of a suitable spring in the housing 44, not necessary to illustrate, the pin 43 is normally projected so that when the arm 38 and parts presently described as carried thereby are swung over from the dotted line position of Fig. 5 to the full line position of that figure, the cam face 41 will at first press the pin 43 inwardly and then said pin will snap into the recess 42 and lock the swinging arm in the position for threading the needle. To limit the position to which the arm mentloned may be swung to permit the entrance of pin 43 into recess 4-2, I provide a stop such as a screw 46 (Fig. 5) adjustably mouutedin a lug 47 of the bracket 35.

Pivotally connected with the arm 38 is an arm 48, the upper end of said arm 48 being shown. as having a cone bearing 49 which is mounted on a stud in amanner similar to that mentioned in connection with Fig. 4 of the drawings. Projecting from the back of the arm 48 is a: lug-5O which is normally held against a stop lug 51 of arm 38 (Fig. 8) by means of a spring 522 coiled aboutthe pivotal stud of the arm 48 as indicated in Fig. 5. To prevent the arm 48 from being swung outwardly too far by the operator 1 provide a screw stop 53 mounted in a lug 54 of the arm 38.

Arm '48 is really in two parts, the lower part or section 55 being vertically adjustable relatively to the upper portion. The

section 55 has a stud 56 passing through a slot 57 in the upper portion ofthe arm, said stud 56 having a threaded aperturefitting a screw 58 mounted in lugs 59 projecting from the upper section of the arm. By means of this .structurejust described I. am

able to adjust the length of the arm 48 so as to bring the thread guide hereinafter described to accurate vertical position according to the length of needle which is being used, or the vertical position of the eye of the needle when arrested and locked for threading operation.

The section 55 is provided with an opening 60 in which is mounted so as to be laterally adjusted a block 61 projecting from a bracket 62, an adjusting screw 63 fitting a threaded aperture in the block 61 and mounted in the walls of the opening 60. By means of this adjusting screw 63 the exact lateral position ofthe thread guide can be secured.

The horizontal portion of'the bracket 62 is slotted as indicated by dotted lines in Fig.

'5, and mounted on saidhorizontal portion is a bracket 64 having a lug 65 having a threaded aperture for an adjusting screw 66 mounted iii-lugs 67, 68 of the bracket 62. By means of this screw 66 I am able to se cure accurate adjustment of the thread guide toward and from the side of the needle.

The bracket 64 has an arm 69 (Figs. 6 and 7) the tip 70 of which forms the under member of the thread guide, said tip having a projecting portion 71 to form a shelf or table to aid in starting the thread into the guide. The upright portion 72 of the bracket 64 (Fig. 5) carries a stud in which is mounted a cone hub or bearing 73 having an arm 7 4 (Fig. 9). It is to be assumed that the mounting ofthe hub or bearing 73 is similar to that described in connection with Fig. 4, to enable adjustments to be made to compensate for wear. The arm 74 has its tip '75 recessed on the. under side, said recess being tapered at 76 and rectangular in cross section as indicated at 77 (Figs. 7 and 10). A spring 7 8 acts to hold the arm 74 down upon the arm 69 when the threading operation is to take place, so that the lower side of the threading recess 76, 77 will be closed by the upper face of the tip 70 of arm 69. The pivoted member carrying the arm 74 is formed or provided with a finger piece 79 and preferably with a'stop lug 80, to enable the upper {1 311174- and the upper member of the guide to be raised to the position in dicated by dotted lines in Fig. 7

To facilitate in adjustment of the length of the combined arm 48, 55 the arm 55 is provided with slots 81 (Fig. 7) through which screws 82 pass into the member 48. When adjustment of length is to be effected, screws 82 are loosened, accurate adjustment then obtained by means of thescrew 58, and then the screws 82 are again tightened.

When the sewing machine is in use, it is to be supposed that the keeper pin 25 occupies the position'shown in Fig. 2, and the entire threadingv attachment is swung over to the dotted line position of Fig. 5, a suitable rest beingprovided such as abracket 83 projecting from the arm 17 It being assumed that the attachment has been put in place and its members so adjusted that the recess 77 will be in accurate alinement with the eye of the needle When the latter has been arrested as hereinbefore described,

and when the threading attachment has been swung over to the full line position of Fig. 5, and as also shown in Fig. 6, then the user simply takes the thread and directs it into the tapered recess 76, the shelf or table 71 facilitating so doing, the thread then being pushed through the rectangular portion 77 (Fig. 10) of the thread guide into and through the eye of the needle. This rectangular formation 77 is important in that it enables thread of widely diflerent sizes to be passed through, as compared with what would be the case if the smallest portion of the guiding aperture were circular. This is because any loose projecting fibers of the thread will be deflected into the corners of the rectangular aperture and will not afi'ect any obstruction to pushing the thread through. After the thread has passed into the eye of the needle, and has been drawn or pushed tar'enough through, the user presses upon the finger piece 79 to raise the guide member 75 from the guide member 7 O as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 7, and while so holding the parts, eX- erts a slight rearward pressure against the lower portion of the attachment, in the clirection of the arrow at in Fig. 6, so that the guide will be carried away from the thread by what may be called a lateral movement, thus allowing the thread to escape from the guide. This movement in the direction of the arrow at which may be effected by grasping the handle 84 is in opposition to the spring 52. Almost simultaneously with this movement the user grasps the knob 45 and withdraws the pin 43 from the recess 42 which unlocks the entire threading attachment and allows it to be swung, on its pivot 39, over to the dotted line position of Fig. 5.

The handle 84 (Figs. 1, 5 and 9) is rigidly connected to and projects from the lower portion of the arm section 55 and may be conveniently employed in swinging the at.- tachment from the position of use over to the position of rest indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5.

As shown by comparing Figs. 6 and 9, screws 85 removably connect the two parts of which the arm 74 is constructed, so that if desired dilferent tip portions 75 may be substituted one for another.

The attachment includes two pivots the axes of which are at an angle to each other. The lower pivot is that which connects the arm sections 38, 48, and is for the purpose of enabling the threading members 70, 71, to be shifted in the direction of the arrow a in Fig. 6 to leave the thread clear after the latter the needle. The upper pivot, for the hearing 39, enables the entire attachment to be swung up and over to the posit-ion indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, where it is as much out of the way of use of the sewing machine as though not present at all. Still it can be almost instantly restored to position for use, the adjustable stops 46 and 58 rendering it certain that the correct position for use will be automatically attained, in spite of the fact that, owing to the two pivots mentioned, the threading members move first in one plane and then in another during shifting.

Having now described my invention, what I claim is: V

1. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two members pivotally connected, one of saidmembers being provided with means for pivotally connecting. it with one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having an adjustable thread guide.

2. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two members pivotally connected, one of said members being provided with means for pivotally connecting it with .one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having a vertically and laterally adjustable thread guide.

8. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two members pivotally connected, one of said members being provided with means for pivotally connecting it with one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having an adjustable thread guide, the pivotal connections of the members being constructed to compensate for wear.

4. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two memhas been placed in the eye of.

bers pivotally connected, one of said memarm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having a thread guide and provided with a screw and cooperating means for adjusting the guide relatively to the member which carries said guide.

6. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising twomembers pivotally connected, one of said members being provided with means for pivotally connecting it with one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having a twopart thread guide, and means for manually separating the two parts. a r

7. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two members pivotally connected, one of said members being provided with means for pivotally connecting it with one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having a twopartthread guide, and means for manually separating the two parts, one part being flat and the other part being recessed to form the thread guiding aperture.

8. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two members pivotally connected, one of said members being provided with means for pivotally connecting it with one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having a thread guide comprising two members pivotally connected, the lower member being flat, and the upper member being recessed to form the thread guiding aperture, a spring being provided to normally retain the two members in contact.

9. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two members pivotally connected, one of said members being provided with means for pivotally connecting it with one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having a thread guide comprising upper and lower members, one of said members being movable toward and from the other, the lower member having a projecting lip or shelf to facilitate the introduction of thread to the guide. V

-10JA sewing machine needle threader having a thread guide provided with a passage which is tapering at the entrance and at its exit portion is angular in cross section.

11. A sewing machine needle threader having a thread guide consisting of two movably connected members, one of said members being substantially flat and the other member having its face opposite the fiat member provided with a recess, one end of which recess is tapering and the other end being angular in cross section.

'12. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two members pivotally connected, one of said members being provided with means for pivotally connecting it with one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having a thread guide, meansfor holding said guide in position to direct the sewing thread into the eye of the needle, wherebywhen the needle is held in a predetermined position the guide will be in line with the eye of the needle.

13. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two members pivotally connected, one of said members being provided with means for pivotally connecting it with one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having a thread guide, and locking devices for holding the said two members with the thread guide in position to direct the sewing thread into the eye of the needle.

14. A needle threader for sewing machine needles, said threader comprising two members pivotally connected, one. of said .members being provided with means for pivotally connecting it with one side of the arm of a sewing machine whereby it can be swung to an elevated position alongside of the arm, the other member having a thread guide, and means whereby said two members may be supported in inoperative position alongside of the arm of the machine.

In testimony whereof have aiiiXed my signature.

JAMES H. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

